Which DVC resort?

[dpware]

We:

- are a married couple with no kids (and will probably stay this way)
- we are in our early 30's
- we prefer BWV/BCV area and its proximity to Epcot and MGM
- we are flexible with regards to when we will travel
- we are somewhat inflexible with regards to room (only need a Studio) to best use points
- plan on purchasing approximately 50 points for 7-10 days of travel every other year

Based on your experience:

Should we buy in at one of the newer resorts to benefit from the longer contracts even though we will most likely want to stay at BWV or BCV?

Will we find booking at a non-home resort easy using the 7-Month window if we are somewhat flexible with regards to date?

Bonus Question: Will we ever be able to get a Studio at BWV or BCV duing Food and Wine if they are not our home resorts? (Least important factor, just wondering)

Thanks in advance for you consideration!

 

[dianeschlicht]

We:

- are a married couple with no kids (and will probably stay this way)
- we are in our early 30's
- we prefer BWV/BCV area and its proximity to Epcot and MGM
- we are flexible with regards to when we will travel
- we are somewhat inflexible with regards to room (only need a Studio) to best use points
- plan on purchasing approximately 50 points for 7-10 days of travel every other year

Based on your experience:

Should we buy in at one of the newer resorts to benefit from the longer contracts even though we will most likely want to stay at BWV or BCV?

Will we find booking at a non-home resort easy using the 7-Month window if we are somewhat flexible with regards to date?

Bonus Question: Will we ever be able to get a Studio at BWV or BCV duing Food and Wine if they are not our home resorts? (Least important factor, just wondering)

Thanks in advance for you consideration!

I'm a firm believer in "buy where you want to stay". If you are firm on BWV or BCV and firm on Food and Wine, I recommend you buy at one of those resorts.

Now, that being said, I am not sure the value is as great for just a studio every other year. For us, a great draw of DVC was having better accommodations. I'm not sure a studio would fill that for us in the way a 1 bedroom does.

As for the added years...You say you are early 30's, so does that mean you see yourself traveling to Disney the same way in 35 years as you do now? Do you see yourself with the same travel pattern longer than that...say the next 50 years? The answers to those questions will tell you if the added years are important to you.

Remember that you will only be buying DVC strictly for small stays, and wont have the adavantage of the true flexibility of the program when you own so few points. You wont be able to trade out for other vacations either through II or even within the other collections such as Disney collection (wont have enough points).

 

[vwlvette]

I too believe in buy where you want to stay, The 11 month window is very important, specially if you are looking to travel every other year.

We purchased VWL because of location. With a 9 month old we will be spending alot of time in the MK over the next 7 - 10 years.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Database]

Sounds like you need to consider BWV or BCV if you already know that you have a special event that you'd like to attend on a regular basis.

We don't own BWV and were sweating getting ressies in January because of the marathon.

Good luck. Realize that once you start down the DVC path.... points are addicting.

 

[Northern Lights]

Location, Location, Location. We purchased a BCV resale b/c we knew we wanted to vacation there. We prematurely cancelled a December trip and ended up having to try an alternate location. We still had a good time (of course - we were at WDW), but we really missed our home resort. I'm so glad we chose our preferred location over other factors.

 

[DVC Mike]

I also would recommend BCV or BWV.

 

[bnlbebes]

Let me jump on the bandwagon here and say, too, that BWV or BCV will be where you want to purchase.

Just think that the contracts there will expire in 2042. By 2042 how old will you be? 72 or more?!! At that point in your life you may be rethinking taking an every other trip to WDW anyway. If not, with a 15 year extension currently being offered at OKW, it's a popular thought that an additional 15 year extension option will be made at the other resorts in due time.

We own at BWV and ALWAYS book a standard room at 11 months out. If you are looking to save points by booking a standard view room, then owning at BWV is a must.

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Based on your statements, let me offer another vote for the BC/BW area.

We purchased OKW when it was the only DVC Property. We added VWL because of the Home Resort Advantage around the holidays, and finally AKLV for the added years and Home Resort Advantage.

Good Luck with your "No lose" decision!

 

[brucec32]

We:

- are a married couple with no kids (and will probably stay this way)
- we are in our early 30's
- we prefer BWV/BCV area and its proximity to Epcot and MGM
- we are flexible with regards to when we will travel
- we are somewhat inflexible with regards to room (only need a Studio) to best use points
- plan on purchasing approximately 50 points for 7-10 days of travel every other year

Based on your experience:

Should we buy in at one of the newer resorts to benefit from the longer contracts even though we will most likely want to stay at BWV or BCV?

Will we find booking at a non-home resort easy using the 7-Month window if we are somewhat flexible with regards to date?

Bonus Question: Will we ever be able to get a Studio at BWV or BCV duing Food and Wine if they are not our home resorts? (Least important factor, just wondering)

Thanks in advance for you consideration!

1. I think the newer resorts do have a LONG TERM advantage in terms of resale value down the line. As the end term approaches in many years, the memberships will be a diminishing asset. But it's still quite a way off so short term not much difference.

2. I'd also like to know this answer. We can travel weekdays and mostly winter, so whether a cheap point weekday/offseason room is easy to book on short notice is important.

3. I'm guessing it would be harder to get the studio than a pricier bigger room. Hopefully someone can pipe in with real world experience on this, but unfortunately most DVC members seem to be in it because they want cheaper room upgrades. The budget concious with no kids are probably not as numerous.

 

[snappy]

I believe I have read on these boards that the 2 Br's are the most in demand, followed by studios, followed by 1 Br's.

At BWV, the standard views go first (fewer points), then BW view, then preferred view. As only 20% of the rooms at BWV are standard and another 20% BW view, these 2 categories are in demand.

BCV is a smaller resort, that with the location and the SAB make it a hot item to book.

I suspect the Hospitality House location rooms (new category) at OKW will likewise be booked early, along with the concierge rooms at AKL, especially the studio concierge rooms.

 

[Granny]

- we prefer BWV/BCV area and its proximity to Epcot and MGM

That narrows it down to BWV and BCV if you would be disappointed to miss out on these resorts on some of your trips.

- we are flexible with regards to when we will travel

That certainly helps, but my guess is that you will want to visit WDW during the Food & Wine Festival and during the Christmas season (late November through the end of the year) some of your visits. BWV and BCV are very hard to book at the 7 month mark for those periods (as are many DVC resorts).

- we are somewhat inflexible with regards to room (only need a Studio) to best use points

Then your choice is very easy. It really needs to be BWV. The lower point schedule rooms you can reserve (Standard View) are a challenge to get if you don't own there. If stretching your points and having that location are prime goals, BWV wins hands down.

 

[thelobstershanty]

Here is another vote for: buy where you want to stay.!!
As DVC continues to grow, this becomes more and more imperative.

 

[elderfam]

We have beach club and boardwalk points. If I am not on top of it, I will not get a room in my home resorts. They are VERY popular. Beach club, on top of location, has the best hands down pool of any disney property. In the last two years if I waited to even 8 months out, I was pretty much out of luck. Our favorite time to visit is end of October for the food and wine festival.

I will say that if we have a large group coming, I do like OKW for the sheer size of the rooms.

Good Luck!

 

[VrBchJ]

Another vote for BWV. If you are buying so few points the standard view option will stretch those points. The standard view is obviously very popular for that reason and hard to get if you don't have the home resort advantage. After you attend Food and Wine one time that will become your favorite time of the year for WDW.

 

[Mississippian]

We:

- are a married couple with no kids (and will probably stay this way)
- we are in our early 30's
- we prefer BWV/BCV area and its proximity to Epcot and MGM
- we are flexible with regards to when we will travel
- we are somewhat inflexible with regards to room (only need a Studio) to best use points
- plan on purchasing approximately 50 points for 7-10 days of travel every other year

Based on your experience:

Should we buy in at one of the newer resorts to benefit from the longer contracts even though we will most likely want to stay at BWV or BCV?

Will we find booking at a non-home resort easy using the 7-Month window if we are somewhat flexible with regards to date?

Bonus Question: Will we ever be able to get a Studio at BWV or BCV duing Food and Wine if they are not our home resorts? (Least important factor, just wondering)

If you like BWV, then that is where you should buy. By booking standard view rooms you can really stretch your point budget, but these can generally only be booked outside the 7-month window.

The extra 12 years simply does not matter from a time-value of money standpoint. The value you get from a building beyond 30 years really has no value at all, and is totally overshadowed by other factors, such as how much enjoyment you get from the resort.

Most people say they have a hard time booking Food & Wine inside the 7-month window, but who knows.

 

[lesley.a.murray@talk]

Let me jump on the bandwagon here and say, too, that BWV or BCV will be where you want to purchase.

Just think that the contracts there will expire in 2042. By 2042 how old will you be? 72 or more?!! At that point in your life you may be rethinking taking an every other trip to WDW anyway. If not, with a 15 year extension currently being offered at OKW, it's a popular thought that an additional 15 year extension option will be made at the other resorts in due time.

We own at BWV and ALWAYS book a standard room at 11 months out. If you are looking to save points by booking a standard view room, then owning at BWV is a must.

I just wanted to add here that we struggled with this same decision a few weeks ago. Trying to decide if buying in to newer resorts with longer contracts made better sense. In the end we, ignored all that and went for BCV because that's where our dream was!
After all that worrying, I heard OKW is offering an extension and that others may follow. Go with your heart and buy where you want to be. Good Luck.

 

[dpware]

Thanks so much for all the great advice. I think we can now confidently answer these questions.

 

[vonderbar]

My DH and I also prefer BCV and go every year in October for Food & Wine event. Our home is Vero Beach and SSR. Thankfullly, we have never had a problem getting a studio at BCV or BWV.

Even though you think you only need a Studio, a one-bedroom is nice times. I like the feel of a home with full kitchen, living room and huge bedroom. My favorite is soaking in the jaquizzi tub! DH and I had a one-bedroom for New Year celebration. It made a rainy Saturday very cozy!

As for 50 points, if that is what you can afford now, then go for it. The more you can afford, the more you will go. We have 250 and go between 2-3 times a year. I have been there in May for Flower show and Fall for F&W. I am hoping to go to Festival of the Masters in the future.

Good luck with your decision. No matter what you choose, you can't go wrong with DVC. We love it and wished we had bought in sooner!

We:

- are a married couple with no kids (and will probably stay this way)
- we are in our early 30's
- we prefer BWV/BCV area and its proximity to Epcot and MGM
- we are flexible with regards to when we will travel
- we are somewhat inflexible with regards to room (only need a Studio) to best use points
- plan on purchasing approximately 50 points for 7-10 days of travel every other year

Based on your experience:

Should we buy in at one of the newer resorts to benefit from the longer contracts even though we will most likely want to stay at BWV or BCV?

Will we find booking at a non-home resort easy using the 7-Month window if we are somewhat flexible with regards to date?

Bonus Question: Will we ever be able to get a Studio at BWV or BCV duing Food and Wine if they are not our home resorts? (Least important factor, just wondering)

Thanks in advance for you consideration!